Oh, the places you'll go!

As it turns out, I can bust through that slow ceiling! (even if only just a little bit.) Last night, I ran 3 miles in 42 minutes. That’s a pace much closer to 14 min/mile than 15 min/mile (the cutoff pace for the R’N’R AZ ½ Marathon). I tried to purposefully take it slow on the first mile, then I tried to speed up. As it turns out, my splits were like this:

Mile 1---> 14:09
Mile 2---> 14:09
Mile 3---> 14:10
.18 miles at the end---> Doesn’t count because I slowed down on purpose…

Consistent? Uh, YEAH! Slow? Sure! Fast enough to complete the ½ marathon without being swept from the course? Definitely.

Usually when I start running, I’m afraid of going too fast. I feel like if I get started too fast, then I won’t be able to go as far as I’m supposed to. And it’s definitely a tricky thing, finding the balance between speed and distance.

But last night….
Last night…

I have never felt better during a run. My pace was still comfortable, my stride was perfect, the weather was glorious, the route I chose was the perfect length and difficulty… It could not have been better. Runs like this seem to come along just often enough for me to keep trying.

Afterwards, I was talking to SoxFan, and I mentioned how great the whole thing was. I also mentioned to him that “the first 1.25 miles are always the hardest…” and he stopped me. He repeated the words I’d just said out loud, without even thinking about what was coming out of my mouth. “The first 1.25 miles are always the hardest…”

I remember, two months ago, sitting at my desk at work and wondering if I should enter a 1 mile fun run. I was torn over whether or not I should enter: If I was able to run the whole way, it would be a huge confidence boost… if not, it would kill the confidence that I did have. Now, a mile is less than it takes me to warm up. And I don’t even remember how it was that I got here.

Maybe that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I have to believe that you other runners out there know what I’m talking about. It’s the reason I started running: I wanted to do something that felt impossible. At first, a mile seemed like an impossible distance. At first, it was an impossible distance. Now, I run more than a mile on a regular basis, and I do so rather comfortably. I’m now routinely do something that, just a few months ago, was impossible for me. It feels amazing. And it gives me the energy I need to keep trying hard and keep pushing myself… I want to see what other impossibilities I can overcome.